Robinson R-22 accident near Corvallis, Oregon, September 25, 2000
On September 25, 2000 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Robinson R-22 (helicopter), registered N202RP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Corvallis, Oregon (Corvallis Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The instructor pilot's delayed remedial action. Factors include the student's failure to properly initiate a flare, and the soft terrain immediately adjacent to the taxiway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2000 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Corvallis, Oregon · Corvallis Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Robinson R-22 · all R-22s on the register
- Registration
- N202RP · registry record · serial 1030
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a practice autorotation to a power recovery, the student failed to properly initiate a flare. Because the CFI did not intervene soon enough, the helicopter inadvertently made contact with the taxiway surface and bounced back into the air. The CFI took control of the aircraft, but because the rotor rpm was low, the helicopter settled to the taxiway a second time. At that point, the instructor transitioned to a run-on landing, but one skid slid off the side of the runway and encountered soft terrain. The skid then sank into the terrain and the aircraft nosed over.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,583 hours in all; 259 in this make and model; 182 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days; 3,258 as pilot in command; 796 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,612 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 19, 2000; 56 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,370 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CVO at 9:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,000 ft by 40 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N202RP the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.